FRW community members among the winners of continent-wide scriptwriting competition
Date Posted: May 26th, 2008
Three FRW subscribers and three members of organizations with FRW subscriptions won prizes for their entries to a continent-wide scriptwriting competition on climate change adaptation strategies for African farmers, while a broadcaster from Radio Salus in Rwanda has won the grand prize. In October 2007, Farm Radio International, in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), launched African Farmers’ Strategies for Coping with Climate Change, a radio scriptwriting competition for African radio organizations.
The competition was timely, as smallholder farmers in Africa are already experiencing the impact of climate change. Weather patterns are changing, extreme weather events are becoming more common, and the threat of food shortages, crop failures, and growing deserts are real and immediate.
While African farmers are developing and adapting coping strategies on their own, they need new information about farming methods that minimize the negative impact of climate change. A major challenge is providing such information to large numbers of people at a low cost. Radio broadcasts can help address this challenge because they are spoken-word, often in local languages. Because radio builds on Africa’s oral culture, it is not constrained by illiteracy. The technologies for broadcasting and receiving broadcasts are widely available and affordable in rural areas.
Contestants were invited to submit a radio script on themes related to local adaptation to climate change. Fifty-one entries were received from 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Jean-Paul Ntezimana from Radio Salus in Rwanda impressed the international panel of judges with his script on managing rainwater to prevent soil erosion and provide water for crops. This is an important adaptation practice for farmers who face extremely heavy rains on some occasions and droughts on others. Other winners focused on a variety of topics, including the importance of manure, water-conserving irrigation practices, drought-tolerant rice, preventing deforestation, and livestock management.
The FRW Team sends special congratulations to our winning subscribers: Mariama Sy Coulibaly from Afia FM in Senegal, Kwabena Agyei from Classic FM in Ghana, and Joshua Kyalimpa from Opsett Media/African Farm Radio Bureau in Uganda; as well as the winners from The Story Workshop in Malawi, Abakwa FM in Cameroon, and Radio Sapientia, organizations with at least one FRW subscriber!
All 15 winners will receive digital audio recorders, which will assist them with their work – for example, by enabling them to produce programs in the field highlighting local farmer voices. Jean-Paul Ntezimana from Radio Salus in Rwanda will receive a farm radio training/internship sponsored by the German Organization for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Winners will also work with Farm Radio International’s managing editor, using feedback received from contest judges, to improve and finalize their scripts. The winning scripts will then be published in French and English and distributed by CTA and Farm Radio International to approximately 500 radio organizations across sub-Saharan Africa. They will then be transformed into a wide variety of programs and shared with rural audiences.
